Page 96 of Rescuing Brinley

“I sent an email to Dr. Price yesterday to ask her about sex. If it was okay.”

When she didn’t continue, Shadow couldn’t stop himself from asking, “And?”

Brinley smirked. “And she said that as long as I wasn’t in pain, I was good to resume any and all sexual activities.”

Shadow was torn. On the one hand, it felt as if it was still too early. She still had a black eye, her lip was still swollen, and there were those damn marks on her neck. But on the other hand, he desperately wanted to make long, slow, passionate love to Brinley to show her how much he adored her, how beautiful she was to him.

“Are you sure?”

“Very. I was thinking tonight after you got home from work, we could take a shower together and go to bed early.”

But now that he’d started thinking about being inside her, Shadow was positive he wouldn’t make it through the entire day. “I’m thinking now is better,” he countered, taking a hold of her hand and pulling her behind him toward their bedroom.

She giggled. “Dash! You have to go to work.”

“I’ll be late.”

“You can’t be late on your first day back. Zamora will have a coronary!”

“I can, and no he won’t.” Shadow stopped abruptly, catching Brinley before she ran into him. He put his arms around her and made sure they were touching from hips to chest. So she could feel how hard he was for her. “I’m not waiting another second to make love to the most beautiful, strong, kind, compassionate, and kick-ass woman in the world. My woman. I love you, Brinley, and I need you.”

“I need you too,” she admitted without hesitation.

Her smile was huge on her face, her cheeks flushed with arousal. She went up on her tiptoes and kissed him, then pulled back, grabbed his hand this time, and led the rest of the way to the bedroom.

Shadow had no doubt Zamora wouldn’t be happy about his late arrival to the base, but at the moment, he didn’t care. All that mattered was the woman whose ass he couldn’t take his gaze off as they entered their room.

Like his mother said…life was short. So damn short, and he intended to make the most out of every moment he could get with this woman. He’d almost lost her, and he’d never let a day go by without making sure she knew down to her very soul how much she meant to him.

* * *

Brinley was sore, but for a different reason than for most of the last week. Both she and Dash had been impatient and ravenous for each other. As it turned out, he wasn’t as late as either of them expected him to be, because the second they’d gotten naked, things had moved quickly between them.

He’d taken her hard and fast, and it was glorious. Making love to him after everything that had happened felt different. More intense. And throughout it all, he’d stared into her eyes and told her how much he loved her. How proud he was of her. How beautiful she was.

And Brinley believed him. She no longer heard the painful words her own family had slung at her for so long. With Dash, she felt beautiful. It was there in his eyes for her to see. His devotion. Love. Pride.

She had everything she’d ever dreamed about, and she was excited for this next chapter of their lives.

“You have that goofy look on your face again. Do you need a pain pill?”

Brinley laughed at Cypress’s question. “No. I’m good. Really good. I was just thinking about Dash.”

Her best friend rolled her eyes. “Of course you were. My bestie, from virgin to sex fiend. I love that for you.”

Brinley was happy…but not so selfish that she couldn’t see that her best friend wasn’t. “Are you really okay with me moving out? Because something’s bothering you, and if it’s me, please tell me. I can’t lose you. I won’t lose you. Just because I’ve moved in with Dash doesn’t mean we won’t hang out all the time.”

“You aren’t losing me. I won’t let you! And I’m more than all right with you and Dash shacking up. I’m so happy for you. He’s a really great guy. You did good, Brin. Really good.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit. We don’t lie to each other. I think it was you who made that rule up when we were in the fifth grade. If you don’t want to talk about, or aren’t ready to talk about whatever’s bothering you, then tell me that. But don’t lie and say it’s nothing.”

“You’ve been through a lot. I don’t want to burden you with my shit.”

“Your shit is my shit,” Brinley said firmly. “Is this about Echo? Don’t think I’ve forgotten the fact that you never did tell me what happened at The Staggering Moose between the two of you.”